Der Staat Gegen Fritz Bauer

Intriguing biography about courageous attorney-general Fritz Bauer, who has little faith in the legal system of post-war Germany in the early 1960s. That is why he decides to call in the help of Israeli secret service the Mossad, in his search for Adolf Eichmann, the top Nazi war criminal and fugitive. However, in seeking assistance from the Mossad, he commits high treason.

In the early sixties, Germany’s economy is recovering somewhat. All focus is geared towards the future and the political climate leaves little room for introspection or a confrontation with the horrors of the past. However, attorney-general Fritz Bauer is hell-bent on bringing Adolf Eichmann – the mastermind behind the ‘Endlösung’ and therefore responsible for the deportation and death of millions of Jews – before the German justice system.

Bauer can expect little help from his colleagues and the authorities. They even go out of their way to thwart his efforts. A young attorney who is a co-worker and friend also has to bear the brunt: the authorities blackmail him because of his sexual preference, basing their actions on an anti-homosexual law introduced by Hitler decades before.


When Bauer receives a letter showing Eichmann is living in Argentina, the attorney-general decides to ask the Israeli secret service for help. By involving the Mossad, he is committing high treason and putting his career at stake. But Bauer sees this as the only way to help his country on its way to a better future.